Widen your kitchen comfort zone

Whether you’re an inexperienced cook cautiously looking to expand your repertoire or a seasoned pro seeking a new challenge, new recipes always have an allure. Here are just three, two quite simple and one a bit more involved, that would be great to try out as the weather starts to cool. In the hope that they’re not all old-hat to our readers, one is from the East, one is from South America and one is vegetarian.

Hoisin mushroom and chicken stir-fry

This first recipe for a simple stir-fry is from bestrecipes.com.au and was posted under the name Australian Mushrooms (rice directions are by the Queens Chronicle). The weights in ounces are approximate equivalents to weights that were given in grams.

Ingredients

• 2 1/2 tbs. peanut or vegetable oil

• 10 ounces mushrooms thickly sliced

• 10 ounces chicken breast thinly sliced

• 5 ounces sugar snap peas tops removed

• 1/3 cup hoisin sauce

• 1/2 cup roasted salted peanuts (optional)

• 1 cup jasmine rice

Rinse 1 cup jasmine rice in cold water. Mix with 1 1/4 cup water in medium saucepan with lid. Bring to boil. Turn down to low and simmer 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit 10 more minutes, keeping lid on. (Or substitute your own rice-cooking method but remember jasmine takes less water than regular white rice.) Fluff with fork and set aside.

Heat a wok over high heat. Add 2 tsps. of oil and half the mushrooms and until they start to color. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Repeat with 2 tsps. oil and remaining mushrooms.

Add 2 tsps. oil to the hot wok. Add half the chicken and stir-fry 1 minute or until golden. Remove from heat and transfer to a plate. Repeat with 2 tsps. oil and remaining chicken.

Add the remaining oil and sugar snap peas to the wok. Stir-fry for 30 seconds, then return the mushrooms and chicken to the heart. Add the hoisin sauce and stir-fry until well combined and chicken is cooked through.

Stir through the peanuts if using. Remove from heat and serve with rice.

Vegetable strata

This recipe for a simple vegetarian (not vegan) casserole comes from fruitsandveggies.org, which is dedicated to getting people to eat more flora, not fauna. It’s by registered dietitian Jodi Danen, who calls it “super versatile” and “a great way to get more veggies into your family!”

Ingredients

• 1 small red onion, sliced

• 1 tbs. olive oil

• 2 small Roma tomatoes, sliced

• 1 cup broccoli florets

• 6 slices french bread

• 5 large eggs

• 2 cups milk

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• salt and pepper to taste

• ½ cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven and prepare the baking pan. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Spray the baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

Sautee the onions. In a small skillet over medium heat, sautee onions in olive oil until golden brown. This will take about 10-15 minutes.

Steam the broccoli. Meanwhile, place broccoli into a microwave-safe dish, covered with 1-2 tablespoons of water, and cook for 2-3 minutes or until bright green and softened.

Whisk the egg mixture. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, add eggs, milk, garlic, and salt and pepper. Whisk until blended.

Layer strata in baking pan. Lay the bread on the bottom of the baking pan. Top with steamed broccoli, sliced tomatoes and sauteed onions. Pour egg mixture over the vegetables. Top with shredded cheese. With a spatula, gently push down to get the egg mixture covering most of the ingredients.

Bake. Bake for 50 minutes or until the eggs are set and the cheese is melted and bubbly. Serve hot.

Colombian empanadas:

Fried empanadas with beef

and potato filling

This recipe for the popular pastries is by Marian Blazes, a freelance writer and recipe developer with a passion for South American food. It is posted on thespruceeats.com, where you can see a video demonstration, too.

“Like many Latin countries, Colombia has its own version of the empanada,” Blazes writes. “These unique and tasty hand pies have an outer crust made with masarepa, the precooked cornmeal that is used to make arepas. The filling is stewed beef (or pork) and potatoes seasoned with hogao, a cooked tomato salsa.”

They’re traditionally served with spicy aji sauce, she says, “but they’re also good with chile ranch sauce.”

Ingredients

For the hogao:

• 2 tbs. olive oil

• 3 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 tomato, finely chopped

• 6 green onions, finely chopped

• 1 small onion, finely chopped

• 1/2 tsp. cumin

• 1 package (about 2 tsps.) Saz—n Goya con azafran (saffron)

• 1/4 cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

• salt, to taste

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

For the filling:

• 3 beef bouillon cubes

• 1 pound top round or skirt steak, or similar cut of pork, sliced into strips

• water, to cover beef in pot

• 1/2 pound yellow or white potatoes, peeled and quartered

For the dough:

• 3 cups yellow masarepa, or precooked cornmeal, or harina de maiz

• 2 1/4 cups hot water

• 2 tsps. sugar

• salt, to taste

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

• 2 cups vegetable oil, for frying

Make the hogao

Heat olive oil in a large stockpot. Add garlic, tomato, onions, cumin, Goya seasoning and cilantro and sauté over medium heat, stirring, until onion is very soft, 12 to 15 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Remove hogao from pot and set aside in a separate bowl.

Make the filling

Using your hands, crush beef bouillon cubes as you add them to the (same) pot.

Add sliced beef to the pot. Cover meat with water and bring to a boil.

Simmer beef until very tender when pierced with a fork, about 1 hour.

Add potatoes to beef, adding more water if necessary to cover. Simmer until potatoes are very tender, about 20 minutes.

Remove the pot from heat and let meat and potatoes cool in the broth.

Using a slotted spoon, transfer meat and potatoes into a separate bowl and set aside. Strain broth into a large measuring cup and reserve.

Place masarepa in a large bowl. Stir 1 cup of the reserved broth into masarepa, along with hot water and sugar.

Season mixture with salt and pepper and set aside for 10 minutes.

Roll masarepa dough into about 40 golfball-size balls.

Make the empanadas

Finely chop meat and potatoes and place in a large bowl.

Stir hogao into meat and potatoes and mix thoroughly, adding a little of the broth to moisten. Slightly mash potatoes.

Working with 1 ball of dough at a time, flatten each ball into a 4-inch circle; placing dough between two sheets of plastic wrap and using a rolling pin will make this easier.

Remove plastic and place a teaspoon or so of filling in the middle of the dough circle.

Fold circle in half to make a half-moon shape, enclosing filling. Seal edges with fingers. Repeat with remaining balls of dough, placing empanadas in one layer on a plate or cutting board.

Heat vegetable oil to 350 F. Fry empanadas in batches until they are golden brown, about 5 minutes. Do not crowd the pot.

Drain on paper towels.

Serve the empanadas warm with aji sauce or chile ranch sauce if preferred.

On the website, Blazes also offers tips on shaping the empanadas a day before cooking them and how to best store them in the refrigerator, and how to reheat them.

Happy cooking!

QueensChronicle.com

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